Big birding weekend

This has been an amazing little few days here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The winter birds, or transients are making themselves known in some surprising ways. Readers will know of my close encounter with a Perregrine Falcon this week. He preyed upon my favorite little bird feeder visitor, the Carolina Wren. That was a traumatic event for me, I can't begin to imagine how traumatic it was for the wren whose existence was challenged! Since that scary incident a couple of days ago, I have experience some new birding spottings and I want to share them. 

Today I saw a hub-bub on an osprey platform in the bay, and a dock nearby. I thought I saw a Great Blue Heron and an unknown raptor duking it out for position on the osprey platform nearby. Needless to say the activity caught my interest so I HAD to investigate. Of course my first reaction was to stare, my second was to go in search of some binoculars to get a better look. There is the challenge of not disturbing or frightening the bird when trying to get a good luck. I accomplished that mission because my distance from the subject was a asset.  I spied with the binocs, I moved closer for a better view, then closer, then closer, but I was still a good distance away...but I had a clear view. All of a sudden I realized that the large bird I was watching was an large raptor, but not a bald eagle which we see often around here. The bird was not alone, it was a pair. One had taken on the Heron, the other was vegetating on a dock piling. This gave me good opportunity to investigate both. To my delight I discovered the pair were Golden Eagles, huge, beautiful and mottled with brown and golden clolor. They were quite magnificent! They also were sparring with each other for the crow's nest position on the osprey platform. They were fascinating. I watched for five or ten minutes, then needed to share my discovery.  As I went to inform my friends of the eagles, a car pulled into the road near the bay and the eagles were shooed off in fear of the car. Too bad, they were magnifcent. Later in the day I thought I saw the pair gliding down a long wind from north to south, making it several miles in just a moment or two. It was damned impressive. I pray that they have moved in for the winter, or at least until deep winter. It will be a joy to spot them.

Then at the feeder I saw a bird I have seen other winters and did not pay much attention to. Today when I saw it I was struck by its pointy beak, streaky feathering, and bright yellow feathers in the stripes of its back. Initially when I spotted it I thought it was a House Finch, but I realized there were no purple/red ones so I took a closer look and realized that I was looking at Pine Sislkins. They are pretty little things, and they were happily gulping sunflower and nyjer seeds from the feeders.

The regulars have not been too plentiful. No Goldfinches to oogle at, nor chickadees to watch in the tree, haven't seen a Tufted Titmouse in quite some time. I guess I need to look into some migrating information about these, I might learn something....though something tells me they have not returned since the sighting of the Falcom. Maybe they are all too terrorized by its presence.

All in all a good day for birding!